The Sad State of Diabetes Technology in 2012

Scott Hanselman:

I've been diabetic for almost two decades. It's tiring, let me tell you. Here's a video of my routine when I change my insulin pump and continuous meter. I'm not looking for pity, sadness or suggestions for herbs and spices that might help me out. I'd just like a day off. Just a single day out of the last 7000 or the next, I'd like to have a single piece of pie and not chase my blood sugar for hours.

Every time I visit the doctor (I do every 3 months) and every time I talk to someone in industry (I do a few times a year) I'm told that there will be a breakthrough "in the next 5 years." I've been hearing that line - "it's coming soon" - for twenty.

I used to wait a minute for a finger stick test result. Now I wait 5 seconds but we still have blood sugar strips with +-20% accuracy. That means I can check my sugar via finger stick twice and get a number I'd take action on along with one I wouldn't. Blood sugar strip accuracy is appalling and a dirty little secret in the diabetes community.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 19, 2012 2:14 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas